Mouse
by Sis21K
Summary: Meet Mouse, a sister to Davey and Les who cannot speak. Through her silence, she quickly earns a place in the hearts of all the newsies.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is a story to introduce my female OC, Mouse. I know that movie canon is that Davey and Les's sister is Sarah, but it just didn't really work out and besides, this is the musical! So I have created a sister for the Jacobs. Because of SOMETHING (backstory backstory backstory) that happened when she was six, Mouse does not/can not speak. She is two years older than Les. At some point I might put a long OC description in my profile, but for now this is all you need to know. Enjoy!**

"David Jacobs, let your brother use the washroom!"

"I told him he could come in, I'm just cleaning up!"

"But _Mama_, the door's locked!"

"David Jacobs, unlock that door right now!"

"Okay, okay!"

After a moment Davey rushed out of the bathroom, frantically buttoning up his shirt. Les zipped in and out of the bathroom, water dripping down his bare front from splashing it on his face. His mother turned around and saw him.

"Les Jacobs, you get a shirt on!"

"I'm going, Mama!" Les started towards the bedroom, then turned towards a silent figure on the window seat and pumped his arm in a muscle. He clenched his stomach and growled animatedly, taking advantage of this moment when his top was bare.

Davey noticed his antics and poked his little brother in the ribs, making Les flinch. "Doesn't make a difference, you scrawny kid." Les frowned and scurried into the bedroom, while Davey grinned, shaking his head affectionately.

Haddie sat quietly on her seat by the window and observed her family.

Haddie was two years older than Les, but everyone treated her like she was the baby just because she didn't talk. Not _couldn't_ talk. _Didn't_ talk. At least, that's what people thought. "This is Haddie and she doesn't talk." Haddie thought so at first, too. But then, once, she tried to talk again, and found she couldn't. Words just wouldn't come.

She hadn't made a sound for six years.

She found ways to communicate, of course. She would point her thumb down if she didn't like something, and up if she did like something. She pointed and mimed. She frowned and smiled—well, she used to smile, not so much anymore. Haddie knew how to get her point across, and if she couldn't show people what she was trying to say…well, then it wasn't worth saying.

Haddie stayed at home with her mother because "no one will hire a girl who won't speak"—her mother's words. It was probably true. Haddie watched her brothers leave each morning with a cold feeling in her stomach. She wished she could join them. But before she could do too much wishing her mother would have her help around the house, cooking and cleaning. If there was nothing to be done, or if Mama felt Haddie was "in one of her states", Haddie was left to sit on her seat by the window for hours, staring outside at the gray street.

But today was different. Haddie was pulled from her daze when she heard her mother talking about her.

"Davey, you'll just have to take Haddie with you is all. Your father's out of town looking for work, and I have to go to Boston for the funeral."

Davey stared at her in disbelief. "But Mother, it's an all-boys lodging house. _All boys_," he emphasized, as if he wasn't sure she understood.

"Yes, I know that, but you've told me they've had girls stay with them before, sisters and cousins of the boys. And the newsies are nice, you've told me that a hundred times, how nice they all are."

"But Mother…" Davey searched for another argument. "I told Jack it was just going to be me and Les. What if they don't have room for her to sleep?"

"They will. Don't try to argue, Davey, this is final! It's just the way it is. Just don't let her out of your sight and you'll be fine."

"I don't want to be watching her every second."

"Then don't. She can get along fine without you. Just keep an eye on her."

"Ah…fine. Les, bring Haddie a big shirt she can wear over her dress, will you?"

And that was how a silent Haddie found herself being tugged along with her brothers to become a newsie for a day.

* * *

"Well, well, well! What have we here?" A boy about Davey's age hopped down from his perch on a wagon and squinted at Haddie. Haddie knew right away that this was Jack Kelly. Since she didn't talk, she had plenty of time to listen, and she had listened to Davey talk about Jack for long stretches of time.

Davey seemed a little reluctant to introduce her, so Les jumped right in. "This is Haddie. She's our sister, and she doesn't talk."

"Doesn't talk?" Jack inquired. Les nodded. Jack stared thoughtfully at the girl. Haddie averted her eyes from his deep gaze. After a moment, he grinned cheerfully and clapped her roughly on the back. "Well, you'll make for an interesting newsie, kid!"

"I hope there's enough room for her to stay tonight," Davey said in a low voice, as Haddie broke away from his vice-like grip and got into line behind Les, keeping her mouth tightly shut, as usual. She had heard her brothers' stories about the other boys enough that she recognized most of them from description. Crutchie was in line behind her, talking in a gentle voice, but she wasn't really listening. Specs smiled at her. Romeo winked at her, but she frowned at him so harshly that he gave up right away.

Haddie could hear Davey still talking to Jack. "What do the Delanceys think of girl newsies? They see her. Are they going to try to hurt her?" He sounded worried. Haddie couldn't speak to defend herself against any insults.

Jack chuckled; as they spoke, the dreaded Delancey brothers were making their way towards Haddie. Davey looked alarmed, but Jack just crossed his arms and watched. "Just wait and see, Dave."

Haddie looked down as the Delanceys leered at her. "Who's the quiet little-"

_Bam. _Haddie felt one, two, then more and more hands rest firmly on her shoulders and back. The newsies fell silent, one by one reaching to keep the little girl steady. Haddie, feeling braver with all the newsies holding her strong, raised her eyes to stare at the Delanceys. She couldn't read their expressions, but they spat on the ground and backed away. After a moment, the newsies released their hands and the conversations and movement continued as if nothing unusual had just happened.

Les handed Haddie some papers and she turned around just in time to hear Jack say with a satisfied grin to Davey, "See? What did I tell you?" He saw Haddie looking and motioned her over.

Jack bent down so that he was at the same height as Haddie. "Hey, little Mouse, how's about you sell with me for today?" Haddie looked to Davey for confirmation. Her brother nodded. Jack put a hand on Haddie's shoulder. "I'll teach you the ropes, for a price. We split the cash, all right? Seventy-thirty."

Haddie frowned and shook her head. She held up two open hands and flashed five fingers each. Jack laughed. "You see that?" he said to the others who were watching, "The Mouse wants a better deal, see?" There were shouts of laughter. "Your brother Les once made me split our cash sixty-forty. You think you'se gonna pull that on me?" Haddie thought for a moment, then shook her head. She stubbornly held out five fingers on each hand, insisting on fifty-fifty. Jack shook a teasing finger in her face. "You wanna sell with your boring big brother, or with the amazing Jack Kelly? Cause I don't go any lower than sixty-forty, ask anyone. So...Mouse...we got a deal?" Haddie noticed he had come up with a new affectionate name for her already. Mouse. She wasn't sure if she liked being called Mouse or not. Although, it wasn't really up to her.

She gave a firm nod to close the deal. Jack spat in his hand and held it out to her, and Haddie returned the gesture without hesitation.

"All right! Let's hit the streets!" Haddie (or Mouse, as they were all calling her as they walked past) stuck close to Jack. Davey kept glancing back to check on her. The young Mouse felt free for the first time in years. She didn't know how she was going to sell pages without speaking, but the fact that the newsies accepted her-that Jack Kelly was by her side, calling her Mouse!-made everything seem just fine.

**Please review and tell me if Mouse is a strong enough OC to use for future stories or nah!**

**-Sis21K**


	2. Chapter 2

**So this story was supposed to be a one-shot...**

**...however, I realize I didn't make that clear at all (lol), and you people are so nice in your reviews that I decided to continue. Now, to be clear, _this is the end of this story_! But don't worry, if you like Mouse, I'm planning to start a new multi-chapter with her. So stay posted on that! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

Jack led Mouse to his usual selling spot and scanned the street with a practiced eye. Haddie—or, Mouse, now—watched him nervously. "Okay, Mouse, there's a couple of ways we can do this. First, my favorite, just hawk out a good headline." To demonstrate, he started shouting. "Extra! Extra! 'Factory Fire Kills Three, Dozens Wounded!' Extra!" Several nearby people flocked to him, and after a few seconds Jack had sold four papers. He watched the people walk away quickly, and when he deemed it safe, leaned down to Mouse. "Sometimes you gotta make somethin' up, if there ain't any good ones. Like today." Jack pointed at the front page, which read 'Taxes Still Steady'. Mouse frowned. Her parents had taught her brothers not to lie. They'd hadn't bothered with her since she had stopped talking, as she couldn't really lie anyway, but they always made sure she was within earshot whenever they lectured her brothers on morals. She shrugged.

Jack continued. "Another way…I used to do this more when I was younger—you know, more believable—is the pity trap. Works best with ladies." Jack looked around, studying the various people strolling down the street, and settled on two older women heading towards a beauty parlor. Jack grabbed Mouse's arm and hurried after them with a wink at the younger girl. When the ladies were within earshot, he pounced.

"Good mornin', ladies." Jack had subtly made his voice higher and his sharp dialect more pronounced. "Wouldn't ya mind buyin' a pape o' two off'a me an' my sista here? She's practic'ly starvin' at night, miss, it's got so bad she won't even talk no more. Please, miss and miss, just a coupla cents fo' my little sista, maybe we can get 'er some food tonight, I mean, a bit'a bread o' somethin', an'thing to stop the pain in 'er stomach…"

The ladies were practically swooning by the time Jack had finished his little spiel, and they positively gushed over Mouse while digging in their purses for coins. The ladies walked away with one paper each, and Jack pocketed 35 cents. "We'll split it later." He grinned at Mouse, then noticed the young girl was glaring at him. "What?!"

She glanced harshly at the ladies who were halfway down the street, then back at him.

"You don't like being my 'poor hungry little sista'?" Jack smirked. Mouse crossed her arms. "Well, I just had to show you." Jack headed back to his main selling spot, with Mouse hurrying along behind him. "And now we've got a problem. You can't hawk, and you won't be able to get your point across for a good pity trap." Mouse snorted. "You beg to differ? Fine. Show me. Pretend I'm a lady, walkin' down the street, and you're trying to get me to pity you and buy a pape."

Mouse rolled her eyes, but Jack was serious. He turned his back and waited. After a moment, Mouse dug into her bag and pulled out a paper. She poked Jack in the back, and he turned around. "Whatdya want, kid?" His voice was high and girlish. Mouse couldn't help but giggle, silently. "Now, now, that won't do," Jack said in his normal voice, smiling slightly. "You can't bust out laughing every time someone turns around. Try again." Mouse stuffed her giggles and poked him again, a little more serious this time. Jack raised an eyebrow, pretending to be not amused.

Mouse pointed sharply to the paper in her hand, then at her throat. She pressed her lips tightly together and placed a hand on her neck. When Jack didn't respond, she slid her hand to her stomach and pretended to bend over in hunger, while holding the pape out to him. He didn't blink. Mouse frowned at him, then took the pape in both hands and waved it in his face.

"That's what I thought," Jack said, taking the pape and stuffing it back into Mouse's bag. "Won't work. People don't have time to watch you try and mime stuff out. They turn around, you don't talk, they keep walking. That's it." Mouse sighed, looking frustrated. "I know, kid. It's a tough life to live, I'm sure. But we just gotta figure this out, okay? You'se a newsie now. You'se gonna sell every one of those papes by the end of today, got it?"

Mouse closed her eyes, then looked up at Jack and nodded firmly.

"Good. Now, first you'se gonna help me. I got a little plan for another time, but I gotta think on it some more. So come here." Jack handed her one of his own papes. "Hold it up so people can see. I'll hawk, you'll hold. Got it?"

Mouse took the paper in both hands and held it high above her head. Jack nodded, then started yelling out his false headlines and pointing to Mouse; both of them were silently hoping it would work.

It did. People seemed more likely to stop to buy than when Jack was alone. He always liked getting to help out a younger kid, because he always sold a bunch more papes. The people flocked—a couple times, Jack had to grab Mouse's arm and they took off, sprinting around the block. When they stopped after the first time this happened, both breathing heavily, Mouse widened her eyes at him, confused.

"One of the guys we just sold to was walking away, reading, and then he just stopped in the middle of the street, staring at the pape. Well, I've seen that before, the second they realize the headline you hawked wasn't in the paper, he's back beside you and things get bad. I've learned to run as soon as I see that. We'll go back in a couple minutes…" Jack glanced up and down the side street. "Hey, there's some ladies, why don't we go butter 'em up?" Mouse shook her head empathetically. Jack was deadpan. "No? What? Why not? Oooooh, that's right, you don't like being my hungry little sista."

Mouse socked him in the arm.

"Ow! Jeez! For a little Mouse, you can throw one heck of a punch, kid!"

Mouse smiled.

They sold the rest of their papers a little early, which put Jack in a great mood. Together they headed back to the Lodging House, where the Jacobs would be spending the night while their parents were out of town. Jack had just finished dividing up the money while Mouse watched, when Davey came in.

"Hadd—Mouse! Are you okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean? She's fine. She was with me, wasn't she?" Jack said, handing Mouse her share of the coins. She pocketed them, then seemed to change her mind and handed the coins to Davey before giving him a hug.

"Hah. So you _did_ miss me." Davey grinned.

At that, Mouse pulled away and frowned at her big brother. Jack laughed. "She did a little, but not _that_ much. You know where you'se all sleeping?"

Davey nodded; he had claimed a vacant bed, underneath the bunk that Jack said was his but he never used, earlier. Les and Mouse were to sleep in a bunk, one on top and one on bottom. As soon as Les returned from selling, however, the youngest Jacobs siblings detected a problem.

"No, Mouse, _I'm_ sleeping on the top bunk," Les said stubbornly.

Mouse shook her head and pointed empathetically at herself.

The other newsies were paying them no attention. The two stood in the midst of the chaotic Lodging House, arguing. Les looked around for Davey to straighten things out, but their older brother was in the middle of what looked like a deep conversation with Crutchie. All other authority figures were nowhere to be seen.

Mouse was furiously miming something. "You want a pencil?" Les asked. "Oh, boy, here we go…" Mouse set her jaw as Les ran off to get her something to write on and with. She had won arguments with him before, by writing down what she couldn't say. Les returned within moments, holding a pencil that had been snapped in half and a torn sheet of paper. Mouse snatched them from her younger brother and began scribbling frantically.

I AM OLDER

"So what? Davey's oldest of us and he's sleeping on a bottom bunk!" Les pointed out, watching over her shoulder. Mouse bit her lip and wrote something else.

I AM A GIRL

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Mouse shook her head and added something

I AM THE ONLY GIRL

"So?"

IT'S SAFER FOR ME

"No it's not. You might fall."

Mouse gave up on that argument as Les was completely missing the point. She thought for a moment.

IT'S PROBLY THE ONLY TIME I WILL SLEEP HERE

"Nuh-uh. Mother said you can come here a lot if it helps you start talking again."

For some reason, that fact made her angry. She hadn't heard Mother say it, but she could tell it was true. This was an experiment. Well, they wouldn't make her into an experiment. To somehow prove she wouldn't ever talk again, she pursed her lips tightly. Then she punched Les in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

YOU DESERVE IT

"That's mean! I'm gonna tell Davey!"

I DON'T CARE. YOU ARE A CRYBABY.

"You're just mean."

Mouse underlined CRYBABY. Les growled at her, and actually looked as if he was going to burst into tears. She decided to back off a little.

FINE. I AM SORRY.

Les sniffed. Mouse almost wished she could talk again just so she could show him she actually was sorry through her voice. But she couldn't. She hated not being able to talk. It just made her mad sometimes. She could have won this argument long ago if she could just talk. Talking was faster than writing. Mouse scribbled something else down. The tip of the pencil almost broke, she was pressing down so hard in frustration.

LET'S RACE. FIRST ONE THERE GETS TO SLEEP THERE.

Les thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. On the count of three. One, two, three!"

They were off, and Mouse knew right away it was hopeless. Les scrambled up the ladder like a monkey and was on top of the bunk, victorious, in seconds. Mouse stood on the bottom bed and grabbed the top mattress to keep her balance.

"Hah! I win!" Les yelled happily.

Mouse paused, deciding whether she wanted to get angry or not. She quickly figured it wasn't worth it, and plopped down on the bottom bunk.

She didn't know how long she sat there, just staring at nothing, her mind blank. It was like she was back sitting by the window of her family's apartment, as she had for years, day after day, the seconds trickling by into nothingness. Out of the haze, she saw Davey, as if he was moving through a fog. He picked up the paper on which she had argued so fiercely with her pencil, then looked over at Les perched in the top bunk and Mouse sitting defeated on the lower bunk.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Davey's words reached her, and a moment later he was kneeling beside her. "You're doing that glassy-eyes thing you always do at home."

Mouse blinked.

"You okay? Looks like Les beat you this time." Mouse frowned, but Davey patted her shoulder and smiled gently. "He won the battle. Don't let one battle defeat you."

Mouse took a deep breath, and nodded. She wasn't really upset. It seemed something silly to argue over now.

"I'm glad you two figured it out. You'll be fine."

"She will be." Jack appeared beside them. He smiled knowingly at the young, silent girl. "She's one tough Mouse."

**I'm not sure if that was supposed to be angsty, or funny, or sweet...I don't even know right now. Pfft...**

**Another reminder to PLEASE check out the Newsies Pape Selling Competition forum. There are still many spots open! It's for all newsies writers! It's going to be super fun!**

**-Sis21K**

**(PS I almost forgot. Review, please!)**


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